What is an age-appropriate (and truthful) response to a 4 year-old's question as to whether Santa is real?
Answer:
Is Santa Claus a real person? No.
Is Santa real? That's a different question - Santa is more than just a person - the person we see on television, at the mall, etc, is symbolic of what Santa is supposed to represent - and the selfless act of giving is real. Whether it's an army of elves at the North Pole, or people like you and me donating to Toys for Tots, "adopting" a family for Christmas, or all the other programs that give to those less fortunate than us, the giving is real.
And isn't that what really matters?
tell her Santa Clause is real because he is really St. Nicholas of Tolentine and he gave to the poor and now lives in heaven
Santa has passed on and is no longer with us.
jk..but chck out the link
just be like santa is not real. the gifts are given by people who love you.
or you dont hve to tell her,,.she will find out on her own within a couple years
In my opinion, do you want your child to grow up knowing that you can lie if it is for fun, in other words; as adults we teach our children to not lie. When they get older and find out that you lied to them, what do you tell them, that it is ok if it doesn't hurt anyone. Tell them the truth. There is a reason why they are asking, tell them how it got started and where it originated. Explain to them that you will still have Christmas with all the trimmings, except for Santa.
Religion issupposed to love and serve. The young mind is highlly inquisitive and so these two aspects of life should be taught not by dictating terms but through love and caring. Perhaps the concept of Santa Clause is very much appropriate at this tender age and this costs nothing. The concept should be kept alive either through story telling or practice like distribution of sweets from the hands of the great imaginary or real saint.
Regards
Tell them the truth. Santa is not real. He is imaginary. But, it is ok to pretend. Pretending is fun.
A for year old is to young to really understand the myth that goes along. So yes he is real and what would you like him to bring you.
Come on people, this is a 4yr old we are talking about. In today's world, our children grow up and learn about the adult world at such an early age. They are exposed to news papers, tv news, hearing parents and others talk about the world in general, etc, etc... What the question is isn't about what we think is the right answer or not, but how in a 4yr olds eyes he percieves his world, imaginary or real. Let our kids be kids and have dreams for as long as they can. When we wished on a birthday cake for all those years, was that real? It was magic! and that is what Santa is all about to our kids, magic and what they believe in. When we blink to many times, they will be grown and will discover the truth on their own. Give him a big hug and tell him that if he believes that Santa is real, than its ok.
The only truthful response is that he's not real. It's hard if you've been telling him he is real but if you haven't then it won't be as hard.
I was just telling a friend about this earlier, so I'll say it here, too...
A while back, I was watching something on tv about Santa and whether he's real or not (it was a sitcom, I think, and they were talking about whether they should tell their kids..don't really recall). Anyway, the moral of the story was that you can very easily say to any kid, regardless of age, that Santa is real, because Santa isn't actually a persona, anyway. "Santa" is more about the spirit of the holidays and bringing good cheer and all that, and THAT is always real, no matter what age you are.
Having said that, I don't think 4 years old is quite old enough for that kind of an explanation...so, I'd just say yes for now.
i told my 2 year old that he is not real why lie to them he is four now my husband just lost his job and we have 3 kids so i don't have to come up with a lie i just told him that we can't afford x-mas this year he knows what it is any way it is not about the presents
The santa that we create may be mythical but santa did exist. No reindeer or flying but Saint Nicholas was a real man who delivered things to the needy...look him up on the internet. So if you don't want to lie, you can tell the real story of Saint Nicholas.
Tell them that of course he is real.... don't ruin it for them.. then they will go and tell all of their little friends about it... then when they find out later that he is not real, tell them . "sweetie he is real if we believe it in our hearts". santa and the easter bunny and all of them.... they should be put off as real for as long as possible.. that is what makes it so magical for little ones. ya know.
Yes...santa is real..he's everywhere there is giving.
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